Guardiola Omits Toure From City Champions League Squad

Guardiola Omits Toure From City Champions League Squad

Adeboye   05:30:00   No comments:

Out-of-favour Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure will play no part in Manchester City’s Champions League group stage matches after being left out of the squad named on Friday.

The 33-year-old’s sole appearance for City this season has been in the 1-0 victory over Romanian outfit Steaua Bucharest in the second leg of the Champions League play-offs.

However, manager Pep Guardiola, who coached him at Barcelona and where Toure won the Champions League, two league titles and a Spanish Cup, has deemed him surplus to requirements for the group stage.

City could not include more than 17 non-homegrown players in their Champions League squad and Guardiola still has 18 at his disposal, despite four foreign internationals, Frenchmen Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala among them, leaving before Wednesday’s transfer deadline.

Teams can name up to 25 players in their Champions League squad but City’s lack of homegrown players meant they were only permitted to name a squad of 21.

City have been drawn in Group C with Barcelona, German side Borussia Moenchengladbach and Scottish champions Celtic.

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UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draws, Schedule

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draws, Schedule

Adeboye   19:42:00   No comments:

The line-up for the group stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League after the draw was made in Monaco on Thursday:

Group A:

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Arsenal (ENG)

Basel (SUI)

Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL)

Group B:

Benfica (POR)

Napoli (ITA)

Dynamo Kiev (UKR)

Besiktas (TUR)

Group C:

Barcelona (ESP)

Manchester City (ENG)

Borussia Moenchengladbach (GER)

Celtic (SCO)

Group D:

Bayern Munich (GER)

Atletico Madrid (ESP)

PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Rostov (RUS)

Group E:

CSKA Moscow (RUS)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)

Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Monaco (FRA)

Group F:

Real Madrid (ESP)

Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Sporting (POR)

Legia Warsaw (POL)

Group G:

Leicester City (ENG)

FC Porto (POR)

Club Brugge (BEL)

FC Copenhagen (DEN)

Group H:

Juventus (ITA)

Sevilla (ESP)

Lyon (FRA)

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)

Matchdays:

Matchday 1: September 13/14

Matchday 2: September 27/28

Matchday 3: October 18/19

Matchday 4: November 1/2

Matchday 5: November 22/23

Matchday 6: December 6/7

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Manchester City To Face Barcelona In Champions League

Manchester City To Face Barcelona In Champions League

Adeboye   18:59:00   No comments:

Manchester City will face Barcelona in the group stages of the Champions League having been drawn together in Group C.

The Citizens will also face Borussia Mönchengladbach and Celtic as they aim to plot a way through to the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Musa’s Leicester City will tackle Porto, Club Brugge, København in Group G.

Claudio Ranieri’s men are appearing in the Uefa Champions League for the first time in their history having stunned Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal to win the English Premier League title last season.

Alex Iwobi’s Arsenal are gunning for their first Champions League trophy, but must negotiate their way past PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, PSG and FC Basel in Group A.

For Elderson Echiejile’s AS Monaco, they face a daunting task against CSKA Moskva, Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur.


FULL GROUP STAGE DRAW

Group A: Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets

Group B: Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kyiv, Beşiktaş

Group C: Barcelona, Manchester City, Mönchengladbach, Celtic

Group D: Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, PSV, Rostov

Group E: CSKA Moskva, Leverkusen, Tottenham, Monaco

Group F: Real Madrid, Dortmund, Sporting CP, Legia

Group G: Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, København

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Ronaldo Wins UEFA Best Player Award

Ronaldo Wins UEFA Best Player Award

Adeboye   18:51:00   No comments:

Real Madrid and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for the second time.

Ronaldo, 31, claimed the prize ahead of his club team-mate Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann.

The forward, who first won the award in 2014, scored the winning spot-kick as Madrid beat Atletico in the Champions League final on penalties in May,

And Ronaldo then went on to help Portugal to their first international title with victory at the Euros, scoring three goals during the tournament.

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UEFA League: Real’s Experience Counted – Ronaldo

UEFA League: Real’s Experience Counted – Ronaldo

Adeboye   21:28:00   No comments:

Real Madrid had more “experience” than their defeated Champions League final opponents Atletico Madrid, said match-winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portugal forward scored the decisive penalty in Real’s 5-3 shootout win after Juanfran missed for Atletico.
The win – after the match had finished 1-1 – brought Real’s 11th European title and their second in three years, coming against the same opposition.

“It is a fantastic night for us,” said Ronaldo, 31.
“Our team showed more experience and we showed it by scoring all the penalties.”
Zinedine Zidane’s side led through Sergio Ramos’ close-range finish in the first half, before substitute Yannick Ferreira Carrasco equalised for Los Rojiblancos 11 minutes from full time.
A scoreless extra time meant the match went to penalties and Atletico full-back Juanfran was the unlucky man, striking his effort against the post before Ronaldo stepped up for the winner, reports the BBC.
“The penalties are always a lottery,” said Ronaldo, who has now won the trophy three times.
Midfielder Luka Modric picked up his second Champions League title with Real Madrid after joining from Tottenham in 2012. His total of 71 passes was the most by any Real player in the match.
“We were calm on penalties and we deserved to win,” said Croatia international Modric. “I feel sorry for Atletico but I am glad for ourselves.
“This is the competition of Real Madrid, the ‘undecima’. This trophy belongs to Real and that is why it is the best club in the world.”

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Ronaldo Finishes Top Scorer In 2015-16 Champions League

Ronaldo Finishes Top Scorer In 2015-16 Champions League

Adeboye   23:05:00   No comments:

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been crowned the top scorer in the 2015-16 Champions League with 16 goals.

Ronaldo was relatively quiet in the final at San Siro on Saturday but netted the winning spot kick in the penalty shootout to earn Madrid their 11th European Cup.

The Portuguese has scored seven more goals than any other player in the competition this season and netted an incredible 51 times across all competitions in 48 matches.

He also holds the record for most goals scored in the competition, with 93 strikes since his debut in 2003 with Manchester United.

It's the fourth campaign in succession that Ronaldo has topped the goalscoring charts and the fifth of his career in total.

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